Biological Models (brain makeup and how information is communicated)

Synaptic Transmission (4 steps)

1. An electrical impulse reaches the neuron's ending
2. This stimulates the release of a neurotransmitter
3. The neurotransmitter travels across the synapse (space between neurons) and comes in contact with other neuron's receptors
4. This stimulates electrical impulses in this neuron

SSRIs

(antidepressants) selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; also effective for anxiety and eating disorders; fewer side effects than TCAs and less potential for overdose; yet some important side effects (sexual dysfunction);

SNRIs

(antidepressants) serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors; also used for anxiety, ADHD, pain; very similar to SSRIs, but important adrenergic side effects (EX: blood pressure needs to be periodically monitored)

Deterministic

Sigmund Freud

Viennese neurologist; interested in research but needed to make additional income so he started seeing patients
1. Worked with French physician Josef Breuer - conducted hypnosis on women with hysterical symptoms
2. Anna O- a patient who started to describe traumatic events under hypnosis (expression of those repressed memories seemed to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment
3. "the talking cure"

Operant Conditioning

Operant Conditioning and Little Albert

1. Little Albert would avoid furry things to reduce anxiety
2. Thus, avoidance behavior was reinforced
3. Avoidant behavior increases
4. Because he avoids white furry things, he also avoids the opportunity for the association between furry things and loud noises to be extinguished
5. Exposure to the unconditioned stimulus in the absence of the conditioned stimulus is at the core of behavioral treatments for anxiety

What is exposure used to treat?

Cognitive Models

individuals engage in automatic thoughts that are based on cognitive distortions; such thoughts perpetuate viscous cycles of depression, anxiety, eating disorders, etc.
(EX: "I'm never going to finish that paper")

Aaron Beck and Cognitive Models

an American psychiatrist; widely regarded as the father of cognitive therapy, and his pioneering theories are widely used in the treatment of clinical depression. Beck also developed self-report measures of depression and anxiety including Beck Depression Inventory (BDI),[1][2] Beck Hopelessness Scale,[3] Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSS), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and Beck Youth Inventories.

Mental Filters

Disqualifying the Positive

cognitive distortion; you reject positive experiences by insisting they "don't count" for some reason or other; in this way you can maintain a negative belief that is contradicted by your everyday experiences

Jumping to Conclusions

Magnification/Catastrophizing or Minimization

cognitive distortion; you exaggerate the importance of things (such as your failures or someone else's achievement) or you inappropriately shrink things until they appear tiny (your own desirable qualities)

"Should" Statements

Labeling and Mislabeling

cognitive distortion; an extreme form of overgeneralization; instead of describing your error, you attach a negative label to yoursel ("I'm a loser"); mislabeling involves describing an event with language that is highly colored and emotionally loaded

The Thought Record

Third-Wave CBT

more recent CBT approaches that include the following processes:
1. Emotion regulation skills (techniques to manage difficult and painful emotions)
2. Mindfulness (ability to remain in contact in the present, non-judgmentally, even if we are experiencing unpleasant emotions/thoughts/physical sensations)
3. Radical acceptance (learning to embrace our feelings, thoughts, and behaviors "as they are")